


Shut Up and Dance With Me

by Somewhere_overthe_Reylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Ballroom Dancing, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Eventual Smut, F/M, No mention of pregnancy, The Strictly Ballroom AU Noone Asked For
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:48:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somewhere_overthe_Reylo/pseuds/Somewhere_overthe_Reylo
Summary: The Strictly Ballroom AU that no one asked for!Ben Solo's dance partner breaks both legs in an accident and Rey Kanata is his only hope to win the Pan Republic ProAm.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 32
Collections: ReylOlds





	Shut Up and Dance With Me

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't seen Strictly Ballroom, do yourself a favor and DO IT!
> 
> All the Annette hype this spring made me start thinking of Adam Driver in a Baz Luhrmann movie and of SB is one of my favorite's so this dance fic was born.
> 
> This wont follow the movie exactly, but it will have a lot of the quirkiness and fun, with some angsty, steamy Reylo. Also I know nothing about competitive Ballroom dance, so liberties are being taken.
> 
> HUGE thanks to MizKittyMystic for the prompt via the Reylo Jukebox Exchange and Dyadinbloom for the beta and for being an amazing cheerleader <3

“ _ FUUUUCK! Fucking shit! Goddamn it!” _

The words echoed off the pine and vinyl flooring, alerting everyone in the building to Ben Solo’s presence. 

Collectively, the dancers waltzing in the main studio paused at the familiar outburst. Everyone cringed in unison and waited to see if they would need to clear the floor to make room for Hurricane Ben. The prima-donna dancer often stormed through Skywalker Dance Studio, spewing expletives, and leaving a trail of stunned dance students in his wake.

“I wonder what crawled up the Royal Man Baby’s arse and died  _ this  _ time,” Rey whispered to Rose as they stood among the other dancers, waiting to see if they should start again. 

Rey Kanata has been a fixture at the Skywalker Dance studio since she was 12. Maz, her adoptive mother, was an instructor there and brought Rey to the studio while she taught classes. Rey started ballet lessons at 13 and it quickly became her passion. Once she was in college she didn't have time to dedicate to ballet, so she started standing in when students needed a partner in her mom’s beginning ballroom dance classes. That was the only time she got to see Maz, and her only chance to dance with her heavy course schedule. 

Now that she was done with school, Rey still filled in for missing partners or danced with the singles in the Beginning Ballroom class from time to time, so she frequently danced with one of their new students, Rose Tico, when Rose’s fiancé, Armitage Hux, had to miss a lesson because of work. They quickly became good friends. Rose’s wedding was just a little over two months away, and she couldn’t afford to miss a lesson. Hux had a very formal upbringing as the son of a diplomat, attending many cotillions and balls and was a very skilled dancer, unlike his bride-to-be. “Who knows...” Rose whispered back, rolling her eyes. She’d witnessed several Hurricane Bens blow through the studio in the short time she’d been there for lessons.

The dancers were a few steps into the resumed waltz when the studio door flew open and slammed back against the wall with incredible force. A wild Ben Solo appeared. He looked almost feral as his eyes scanned the room from the doorway. When his eyes met Rey’s, he thundered toward her with a scowl on his face. His mother, Leia, followed him through the doorway seconds after. “Ben, it’s not a bad idea! It’s pretty much your only option at this point…” she huffed trying to keep up with her son’s long strides across the floor.

“Oh, fuck me…” Rey lamented to Rose. 

This couldn’t be good. Especially if Leia was in tow, she thought to herself.

She instinctively dropped the stance with Rose and took a step forward squaring her shoulders, locking her hips, and tilting her chin up in a power pose. Whatever tantrum he was trying to involve her in, she would be ready to deflect it.

“Rey,  _ please  _ remind my mother that you and I dancing together is a terrible idea.” His eyes were blazing as he looked at her.

“Why would I need to remind her? That ship sailed and sank, Solo. I’d rather chew off my own arm and beat myself with it, than dance with  _ you. _ ” She looked over at Leia, who had a silent plea in her eyes. 

Ben stood, arms crossed and chest heaving as Leia explained. “We just got word that Ben’s partner, Bazine Netal, broke both her legs in a car accident, and now Ben needs a new partner for the Pan-Republic Pro-Am next weekend. You’re the only one around the studio who knows enough ballroom to even try to learn the routine in such a short amount of time.” Leia reached forward and grabbed both of Rey’s hands. She stepped forward and clasped them to her chest. “Please, Rey? You’re our only hope.”

“ _Jesus Christ_ Mother! Don’t be so dramatic! She’s _not_ our only hope! I’m sure I can find someone else.” Ben looked more embarrassed than mad now. “Look, I can figure this out on my own...or I’ll just drop out and we can try next year when Baz is back on her feet.”

“ _ Benjamin Organa Solo! _ You have been working so hard for this all year and I will be  _ damned _ if you miss the Pan-Republic! Besides, do you know the probability of her ever dancing again with compound fractures in  _ both  _ legs? Not high, Benny.” Leia might be small in stature but when she raised her voice,  _ everyone _ paid attention.

“Rey, dear, what do you say? Do this for the studio, if you won’t do it for Ben. I know he can be difficult and you have a history, but you can win this with him I know it!” She had the same fierceness in her eye that Rey had only seen in the photos of Leia and her husband, Han, when they danced the Pro-Am in their glory days.

Between her gym routine and dancing at the studio part time, Rey was in great physical shape. She would need to learn the routine, which would be hard given the time frame, but she could do it if she buckled down. The biggest hurdle would be her mind. Her headspace would need a complete overhaul, especially if she was going to be dancing with  _ him _ .

“Leia, I don't think Ben  _ wants _ to dance with me, and you know that will be obvious to the judges if we pair up.” Rey knew she could fake it, but Ben’s emotions had always been hard for him to hide.

“Ben, you want to win this, don’t you? This is your best chance, and you know it.” Leia was still looking at Rey, ignoring the fuming man beside her.

“ _ Of course,  _ I want to win Mother, _ ”  _ he said through gritted teeth. 

Rey couldn't help but laugh at his obvious discomfort in the situation. As much as she wanted to watch him flounder in front of everyone, she was cutting into Rose’s precious class time and that wasn’t fair to her friend. 

“Okay, I’ll do it. It would be great for Luke to have another trophy to display out front. It’s been a long time since Skywalker Studio has won any gold,” she replied, smiling a saccharine sweet smile at Ben. The last time a trophy had been displayed in the dusty case out front was when Ben won a Juniors competition with his cousin Kaydel when he was 17. Seeing him squirm like this fed her soul. 

This had the potential to be a lot of fun, Rey thought wickedly.

“Okay, then! You two should start practicing today, if you can.” Leia turned and headed out of the studio.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I have no problem waiting another year for Baz.” Ben wasn’t glaring at her any longer, but there was still an edge of bitterness in his voice. “It’s going to be a lot of work with me as your teacher and I’m not going to go easy on you. I mean, it’s going to be  _ hours and hours _ of practice. Probably more work than you are used to.”

Rey’s mouth gaped open. “Fuck you, mate! First of all, I’m doing  _ you _ a favor, and you insult  _ my _ work ethic? When have you ever known me not to give 110% in practice? I’ll fucking show you...if we don’t win, it won’t be because of me!” she said, her raised voice quivering slightly. “And second, I don’t need a  _ teacher;  _ just show me the steps. I know everything I need to know, Solo!” She was so mad she was shaking. 

“Ah, you do. Okay then, sweetheart _. _ ” His eyes darkened and she watched as he licked his lips like the lion that was about to eat the lamb. “Once you finish whatever it is you’re doing here,” he said with a condescending wave of his hand, “come to the back studio and we can start...see you soon. _ ”  _ He smirked and walked toward the back of the building.

Rey stood there trying to process what she had just gotten herself into when Rose startled her out of her stupor. 

“Uh ma’am...what was that all about? Tell me about this history between you and Ben! Please tell me you climbed that man like a tree? He is a total ass but he is insanely  _ hot _ .”

“Oh no! We danced together for a couple months when his partner got mono the summer after freshman year of college, but then he left to dance with the First Order, and we didn’t talk for a few years. Now he’s back at Skywalker, and that’s that. History lesson over. Let’s start again, shall we?” Rey stepped forward to get in position to waltz, trying to U-turn off this trip down memory lane.

“ _ Sure,  _ Rey.” The tension that lingered in the air after Ben left made it obvious that Rey was full of shit. “I’m looking forward to hearing all about the hate sex you are going to have with him,” she smirked. 

“Hate sex? Really, Rose?!” Rey couldn’t help but blush. “We would end up killing each other before it ever got good.”

“Does that mean you’ve at least thought about it? ‘Cause you  _ know _ it would be good. That man is packing. You’ve seen the size of his...hands.” Rose was relentless. “And he is incredibly agile and limber for such a big man…”

Rey shook her head and tried not to let her face betray her. It had been a long time since she thought about that summer. She could feel the heat creep over her when her mind started to wander back in time as the rhythmic steps of the waltz brought a flood of memories back to the front of her mind… and threatened to burst through the delicate walls around her heart. 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Ben was across the room flipping through records, his back to her, when she opened the door. Her eyes went directly to his broad shoulders and muscular back that threatened the integrity of his black tank top. As she entered, her gaze moved down to his ass, firm and well defined in his high-waisted black polyester dance pants. 

He abruptly turned around when he heard the door close. 

“It's not too late to back out, you know. My Mother is easier to turn down when she’s not standing in front of you.” 

“No, I’m good. Like I said, if we don't win, It won't be my fault.” Rey forgot how tall he was now that they were standing toe to toe. She had also forgotten how good he smelled. It was spicy and woodsy, cedar or pine, she thought, he must still use the same soap or cologne. She closed her eyes for just a minute and inhaled, filling her lungs with his familiar scent. 

“Rey? Are you okay?” 

Rey’s eyes snapped open. Ben was standing in front of her with his brow furrowed. “If we’re going to do this we need to start.” 

“Sorry, I just needed a minute to mentally prepare myself for  _ this  _ again.” she said as she waved her hands between their two bodies.

“Look, I know you hate me. If I could go back in time and change things I would. But I can’t. Let’s just suffer through this week and hopefully we come out on top and then you never have to speak to me again.”

“Oooh, so you finally acknowledge what happened? That’s rich, after all this time,” she huffed. She wasn’t going to let this affect her. She had to stay strong.

“Rey, I...you know what...” He shook his head fiercely. “Forget it. Let's just get this over with.” He stepped over to the record player and started the music. Ben looked down as he walked back over to her. He stepped up to her and opened his stance. 

It had been a long time since she had danced with Ben. He felt different. The arrogance that used to roll off of him and feed her confidence was no longer there. He felt like a different person.  _ Hollow. Robotic.  _ After the first few steps, she realized he moved the same, but lacked the passion and electricity that she once felt in his arms.

_ Is it because of me? _ she wondered. 

Rey purposely didn’t follow Ben’s career once he left for the First Order. Occasionally she caught bits and pieces of the conversations about him around the studio, but usually left the room to save her sanity. Once she overheard Leia talking about Ben and his new ‘leggy green eyed partner, Bazine’ and she had to excuse herself in the middle of a class to silently sob in the alley behind the dumpster. 

“Are you okay? You feel...stiff,” Rey asked.

“Huh? No, everything’s fine. One thing I had to improve on when I was at First Order was tightening up my stance. Snoke said I needed to...well, never mind. I won’t bore you with the details. You’ll get used to it,” he said through pursed lips.

Ben led Rey through the steps of the routine and they practiced for nearly three hours with no break. A very loud rumble from Rey’s stomach signaled that it was past her normal dinner time.

“Mind if we stop here for the night? I’m starving and I have to work tomorrow. I’ll be back when I get off and we can pick it up again?” 

“Yeah that's fine. You did good Rey, better than I expected, honestly.” 

“Oh?” she sat on the floor, unbuckling the straps on her dance shoes and glared at him through her lashes.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I meant that you’re still an amazing dancer. I think we might really have a shot at winning.” Ben walked over and held his hand out to help her on her feet.

Rey grasped his outstretched hand and he pulled her up. “Well, like I said, if we don't win, it won't be because of me.” She smirked and gathered up her bag and walked toward the door.

“‘Night, Ben,” she said as she pushed out the door without glancing back at him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I am going to try and update every week/every other week? Also I say this no but dont hold it against me if I cant stick to the posting schedule. As per usual, if I missed a tag, please let me know! I would love to hear what you thought so drop a comment or some kudos! Follow me on Twitter for updates at @somewhere_reylo


End file.
